Data for better lives
An agenda for meaningful connectivity in Africa
The World Bank’s annual World Development Report 2021 themed “Data for better lives’’ will be launched in Q1 2021. In our modern world where the impact of data and digital technology has never been more keenly felt, the focus of the World Bank — a major international developmental partner — on improving lives through data and technology could not have been more timely.
This is particularly true for Africa, the least digitally connected continent. Africa lags behind the rest of the world in Internet access, digital device access, and digital skills. The World Bank’s focus on data and technology in 2021 should rally governments, industry, academia, and civil society to push for the actualization of developmental targets focused on digital penetration and adoption.
An important facet of the theme “data for better lives’’ is an acknowledgment that in developing countries, the collection, collation, and analysis of development data which forms the basis of national planning is done infrequently and often lacks the granularity required to achieve its objectives. Many developing countries have poorly supported government statistical offices. Within these contexts, digital signals such as from mobile phone usage and Internet use can be useful, when expertly marshaled, to fill in gaps in developmental data needed to inform developmental outcomes. The most recent blog by the World Development Report 2021 team highlights the poignant example of the use of social media activity to improve traffic safety in Nairobi Kenya.
What is obvious in the profitable and scalable use of these new sources of data is the need for a critical mass of Internet and digital device users in Africa. Applications of these emerging Big Data sources are most efficient and reliable when there is an abundance of data. The World Bank’s focus on the role of technology and data in national development is another opportunity for national governments, industry, academia, and civil society to rally for increased digital penetration and adoption.
A useful framework for thinking about what constitutes real digital progress for nations is the concept of “meaningful connectivity’’. According to the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), we have meaningful connectivity when we can use the internet every day (regularly) using an appropriate device (smartphone) with enough data (unlimited broadband) and a fast connection (minimum 4G). Only under these conditions of user experience can the durable benefits envisaged by the World Bank’s “Data for Better Lives’’ theme be realized.
From applications ranging from traffic management, mobile money, e-commerce, e-health, software development, and many others, opportunities for individual and national development are opened up when there is a critical mass of digitally connected citizens. “Data for Better Lives’’ thus serves as a rallying point for countries to work towards achieving international developmental goals related to digital connectivity.
